Effects of different concentrations of glyphosate on control of weeds in coconut nurseries and growth of coconut seedlings in the dry zone of Sri Lanka.

摘要

The effects of five different weed management systems on coconut seedlings were evaluated during August 2001 to May 2002 to determine the most economical and effective method for controlling weeds in coconut nurseries in the low country the dry zone in Sri Lanka. The treatments comprised: manual weeding (T1); application of glyphosate at 1.44 kg a.i./ha (T2); 1.08 kg a.i./ha (T3); 0.72 kg a.i./ha (T4); and 0.36 kg a.i./ha (T5). All the treatments were applied at 3-month intervals. The results showed that T2 and T3 significantly reduced the weed biomass compared with the other treatments. The growth of coconut seedlings (in terms of height and girth) increased significantly (P<0.05) in T3 applied at the end of the nursery growth period. At T1, the growth of seedling was reduced at the latter part of the experiment. Manual weeding was neither effective nor economical..